I'm a Rafa ardent! I had to go to work. I did watch a replay of the match... a bit concerned about that darn blistered foot. I've had just regular little ol' blisters that took a long time to really heal and that THING on his foot wasn't a little ol' blister.

I'm a Rafa ardent! I had to go to work. I did watch a replay of the match... a bit concerned about that darn blistered foot. I've had just regular little ol' blisters that took a long time to really heal and that THING on his foot wasn't a little ol' blister.

Vamos, Rafa's foot!

nothing to worry yellowball......the commentators were mentioning that it was just precautionary, even rafa moved very well after that too......he will be back to his normal by sunday.......

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

Rafael Nadal on victory over Jarkko Nieminen: "The good thing is I survived these three matches without losing a set. Tomorrow, I'll be able to recharge the batteries, and then on Sunday I'll be 100 percent fit."

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Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.

Rafael Nadal on victory over Jarkko Nieminen: "The good thing is I survived these three matches without losing a set. Tomorrow, I'll be able to recharge the batteries, and then on Sunday I'll be 100 percent fit."

what amazes me time and again about this guy is his maturity at such a young age......takes it match by match, finishes the job well, maintains a high level of focus for long times and to top it all, his patience and virtue. now that's immaculate for a 21 yr old.......VAMOS RAFAEL!

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

Rafael takes on verdasco today. I predict a walk in the park for him. First we have the match of the day with Djokovic taking on PHM and then the king takes to the court. Great that French officials haven't 'rested' court philippe chatriet today for the usage of it tomorrow for the french players, allowing Nadal and Djokovic to play on it today.

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

Walk in the park it was for Rafa, just dropping 3 games in total vs Verdasco and looking incredibly strong. You Rafa fans should be extremely confident of title number 4 the way he's playing right now and scarily improving with each match.

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah. Well, one of the toughest opponents on clay in this moment, for sure, no? He won in Brazil; he won in Acapulco; played the final in Valencia, but winning 5‑2 against David Ferrer. So.

Probably going to be my toughest match in this week, no?

Q. Were you surprised it was so easy today?

RAFAEL NADAL: Always surprise. 6‑1, 6‑0, 6‑2, in fourth round of Grand Slam. Is not usually. But I played a lot better today, better than last days. The day off from yesterday and one hour‑and‑a‑half practice helped me a little bit, and I feel the ball better, no?

For sure Fernando was a little bit tighter later, but when the first set was normal the game was normal, I feel I am playing well, no?

Q. You only lost 22 games in four matches. Do you feel invincible?

RAFAEL NADAL: What?

Q. You only lost 22 games in these four matches, your four matches in Roland Garros.

RAFAEL NADAL: 22? Well, for sure I didn't feel nothing like you say, no? I feel when I go on court I can lose every day, and I feel I have to play my best tennis any want to continue winning.

Q. What was the situation when the trainer came out after you warmed up following the rain delay?

RAFAEL NADAL: Situation? The tension, you know, the tension going down. I don't ‑‑ well, I feel a little bit dizzy, no? I just feel a little bit dizzy probably for ‑‑ I go out half an hour, coming back.

I can't take a shower because I have all the tapes and it's not enough time for everything. Probably for that reason, when I come back on court I feel it a little bit dizzy, no?

But after, I eat some bread, some bananas, and that's helped me a lot, no?

Q. And how are the blisters on your feet at this point? Do they bother you at all today?

RAFAEL NADAL: Not today, nothing. I feel good.

Q. When you say dizzy, you mean light‑headed, too? In English we'd say light‑headed?

Q. We've seen Ivanovic 6‑Love, 6‑Love, so there is no mercy in tennis. What is your opinion?

RAFAEL NADAL: For women it's different. It's totally different. They're playing differently, no? No, mercy? We all do what we can. I wish all my have matches were like this one, because I wouldn't suffer like this one.

But here we don't want to have mercy for anybody. We all fight on each point and we have to play to win the points. That's the only way we can achieve something.

Q. Having suffered the rain and the weather conditions during this tournament, and the threat that there would be an interruption because of the night, did it force you to play harder?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I don't know what you think that I play all my matches 100%. I'm not trying to do more or less. I do as much as I can on all matches.

You know, tennis is not a sport in which you can speculate, neither me nor Federer.

Q. Rafa, when you asked for the doctor you said you felt a bit dizzy. Can you say a bit more?

RAFAEL NADAL: No. As I said, I didn't have time to have a shower. I had sweat a lot, and ‑‑ you know, when you have this half‑hour interruption or delay, I felt a bit dizzy.

I could have played, but it was an important game. I was one break ahead and it was important for me to recover, so I took time to eat a banana, piece of bread, and it helped me feel better to win this first game.

Because at the beginning I was a bit dizzy when I served, and then I started feeling better and better.

Q. Second week you never lost a. Set, you're pretty fit. You're very confident. Apparently you're even more confident now.

RAFAEL NADAL: No, not more confident, just like everybody ‑‑ just like every time. But I have a great respect for all my opponents. I don't have more confidence. I have great respect for the opponent. I know that I have to play 100% if I want to make it, but I know that all matches are going to be difficult.

Next match is against one of the greatest player on clay at the moment. It's going to be a very difficult match. I know that, so I'll try and play my best tennis to win.

Q. After the match, what did you say to Fernando?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I said, How are you? And he said he was a bit tired, which is quite normal, because we played a tough match. He probably doesn't play as many tough matches as I do. Then he also had a problem in Hamburg and didn't have much time to practice.

But he played a very beautiful tournament, reached the quarterfinals. It wasn't a good day for him. I played at a pretty good level, so I won.

Q. After this match, you probably are thinking about the match against Almagro, but you have a day off. You're relaxed tomorrow.

RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, I'll practice for one hour. But, you know, it's always a pleasure to have a day off in a Grand Slam tournament, even when you finish at 4:00 in the afternoon, because you have a feeling that you have a real day off.

Now, you know, I'll have to go back to hotel, have dinner, go to sleep and then start preparing my next match. But as I said, it's good to reach the quarterfinal. This is a difficult tournament.

It's good to reach the quarterfinals in three sets for all matches before, so that's very good. I hope it's not going to be my last match.

Q. Well, your match ended at the same time as that of Chardy and Almagro, so you were playing at the same time.

RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, I was watching the results. I was keeping an eye on their results, and we could have played a double (laughter.) No, it's not true, but I know them well.

Q. How are you going to play this opponent, Rafa?

RAFAEL NADAL: As I said, he is a very good player. He has a beautiful serve, very powerful serve. So I'll try and impose my rhythm, won't let him take the initiative, and make him run.

And that's perhaps his only weak point. I'll try and make him run.

Q. So you're playing on Tuesday, and that's your birthday, isn't it? I think it's 3rd of June. Would you like to play to make the most out of that day?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, I can play at any time. And if I win, it's going to be a beautiful birthday present. I don't mind finishing early or at lunchtime, or like today in the evening.

At the end of the day, if the result is positive, it's going to be a beautiful day. And if it's not, well, too bad.

Q. You regard Almagro as one of the three players who could win against you on clay?

RAFAEL NADAL: One out of the three or four, yes, absolutely.

I bete Nadal say that against everyone he plays... he just changes the name! He's no dummy...

I think Nadal is always spot on with his tactical ploys in the most crucial matches, on clay especially........his game is not the slam-bang stuff right from the outset......first he lets his opponent come to him with all his force,he allows the opponent to assert himself on him(rafa), allows him to do everything he can, finally snatches the set teasing the opponent there by killing the belief in his opponent, wearing him down mentally first.......his real tennis starts somewhere in the second set where he turns the heat on when the opponent had already tried everything but finding life difficult......just wears him down both mentally and physically right through out the match from there on......that's his strategy really. he starts very defensive and turns it on when usually the opponents have played out all their tricks.even if the opponent wins the first set, he(the opponent) would feel as if he has worked for 3 sets to win 1 set......from the second set onwards, rafa starts his actual tennis whereas usually other players tend to shy away from things when they lose a tight first set......irrespective of the first set result, he starts to turn the heat on somewhere in the 2nd set or even third set and maintains same level of focus from starting to beginning of the match......that strategy is just great on clay and really there is no one as strong as him mentally.......

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."